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I have a few friends who don’t care for cats. But when I meet someone and we discover that we both love cats, we’re both instantly on a whole new level. And I’ll freely admit that I don’t understand how anyone can’t love cats — though I grant these people their differences.

It’s hard to believe that everyone is not as nuts about cats as we are. Who can resist a cute cat story? Who can resist a cute cat photo? Thankfully, the Internet is full of cat cuteness. And don’t you love to tell your cat-loving friends about the time your black cat cocked his head like he was listening to you? Or how he sticks his tongue out of his mouth, just a little? Or how he leaps for bugs? There’s no end to the cute things our cats do.

Here’s my cute cat story, for real: I lost a “friend” over a cute cat story, and that incident changed the direction of my career!

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I worked in a big bureaucratic agency. I wasn’t really happy there, but I wasn’t evolved enough (or wise enough!) to figure out why. A quick morning encounter with a former friend changed that.

I thought this girlfriend liked cats. She had a cat, after all. I had two or three at the time. We had talked about our cats before. Maybe she was having a bad day. I had stopped by her cubicle — we all worked in drab gray cubicles that spanned almost the entire floor of the agency building — and I probably started to tell her some funny thing my cats had done.

She gave me a strange look. “To tell you the truth,” she said, “I’m not really in the mood for any more of your cute cat stories.”

Ouch.

Our relationship changed in that moment. Not share cute cat stories? Why should I want to share anything with her again? But the more interesting realization came to me a week or two later.

I was seeing a career counselor to try and figure out why I was so unhappy in my bureaucratic job. (Like I said, I really didn’t know myself that well.) For some reason, I happened to mention the encounter I had with that girlfriend.

“Oh!” he laughed. “That’s a perfect illustration of why you don’t fit in at that place.”

This is an extreme simplification, but you’ll get the idea. He went on to explain that people who were happy working in such a place were different kinds of people than I was. These people were more comfortable with rules and structure, and less so with Imagination (and, maybe, silliness).

Perhaps that former “friend” was much more comfortable in that agency. Last I knew, she still worked there. Seriously, I hold nothing against her. Maybe I was just flying my cat freak flag a little high that morning, without realizing it, and maybe it was a bit too much for her. Sometimes, these things are good in the long run.

I left the agency soon after, and never looked back. I’ve been self-employed ever since, as a writer, yoga instructor, and former music teacher. And, I tell cute cat stories! At least, I think they’re cute. And many of my friends think they’re cute, too, whether those friends are in love with or ambivalent about cats.

So there you have it! We have all kinds of friends, of course, but I believe we share a different kind of connection with our cat-loving friends. Our cat-loving friends never get tired of our silly cat stories or funny photos. They understand why something as silly as a funny cat expression, or a sweet cat tale, might warrant several minutes to an hour of conversation — or more. Choose your friends well!

Do you share cute cat stories and photos with your friends? Do all your friends love cats? What is the cutest cat thing you’ve ever seen your cat do? Share your thoughts and stories!